The Bozeman weekly chronicle., 1887-03-30
DOMINION OVER WILD ANIMALS, J,


The Easc with Which Unarmed Men
Subdue Beasts in Menngeries:
Those who have carefully observed the
management of wild animals in men,
ageries, geological gardens and in the pens
Of the animal dealers must at times have
| been astOnished at the ease with which
hired men, comparatively unarmed, SUBJ
| due beasts which we have been taught
yield only TO the blazing rifle, and fight
gamely until death. A lion escapes from
his cage and crouches at the darkened end
of the menagerie. Remembering the stories
we have read of the ferocity of this beast
and of the terrible scenes at the lion hunt,
we can imagine only one mode of action.
The keepers should arm themselves with
rifles, hide behind barriers, and open a
rapid fire upon him. To our surprise, they
don't do this. They simply wheel great
and thrash away until he enters it.
A few weeks ago an anaconda seven
teen feet long broke away while being
carried across public park in New York
city. With vivid pictures of the exploits
of this reptile in the Amazon watershed
| before 0llr eyes, we expect to see him fall
upon the nearest human being, enfold him
| in his tolls and crush him to a Jelly.
Surely it will take armed and resolute
men to capture him! No; on the con-
trary, this is not required, and it must
have been with feeling akin to disap-
pointment that those who had read Of the
ferocity of the anaconda saw one man
armed only with blanket, advance and
seize him by the throat, while two others,
also unarmed. grasp his tail, and then the
trio, still holding on, carry him through
the streets and thrust him back into the
don Nyhnppa ha nj hmm folyop
Not long since the writer saw Mr..
Thomson, n dealer In live animals open a
box containing an anaconda, quite us long
as this one, take the reptile by the throat
and calmly examine his mouth, opened
though 1t was in rage, to look for cancer
ous humors. Then from adjoining shelves
he took python after python, each about
ten feet long, and examined them in like
manner, At the place of another dealer
tReiche), q big. powerful Syrian bear,
type known for its ferocity, was subdued
without tho firing of shot. The hear
broke through iron bars half an inch
thick, and, standing up with his back
against cage of monkeys, thrust his ter.
rible paws threateningly toward three
keepers gathered about him. He didn't
have chance to use them, however, for
he was belabored with clubs until glad to
get back again into his cage.
On PEDESTAL near the gate of the Gin
cinnati Geological gardens there recently
stood the stuffed figure of q donkey which,
when alive, withstood the attack of lion
and beat him off, The lion, it seems, had
broken out Of his cage and escaped to
wood near by. On grassy hillock, ad-
joining, a donkey lay stretched in placid
slumber-a slumber that was rudely dis
turbcd by the lion, who, in few bounds
was upon him. When the donkey felt
the great mass of flesh descend upon him
as il from the clouds, he was stunned and
indignant, but not frightened, perhaps be-
cause he had never read any of the won.
derful stories about the lion. He quickly
recovered from the blow, and, rising, shot
out both hind feet at the same time, and
caught the lion squarcly in tho forehead,
Badly hurt, the lion skulked off, and
later the donkey died of the wound he re-
ceiyed at the onset.-Scientiflc American.